Kashmir: Different Pak Hand

Targeted killings are low-investment options. Infiltration is bolstered by Afghan situation

What has happened in Kashmir of late – the targeted terrorist killings of individuals who are minorities in the Valley and Monday’s terrorist attack on our army personnel in which we sadly lost five soldiers – is a reflection of both a forced change in strategy as well as exploiting an opportunity by Pakistan’s ISI-military complex.

Before we elaborate, we must all recognise that all terrorism in the Valley is planned and backed by Islamabad’s military-intelligence establishment. The nature of terrorism changes as this establishment’schoices and constraints change.

Coming to the targeted killings of individuals, there are a number of reasons why they are happening now.

First, ISI has been witnessing sagging morale among ranks of terrorists. Security and intelligence operations by India in the recent past resulted in many outfits’ leadership as well as lower-level operatives being eliminated. We should note that earlier problems like stonepelting, or mischief by Hurriyat or even the easy flow of hawala money to finance all kinds of dangerous enterprises all lost their severity over time. Also, Pakistan is under pressure from FATF, where it is under watch. Therefore using obvious Pakistan proxies is no longer viable. Terror groups also lost arms and ammunition supplied to them, and with heightened operational alertness replenishing these is difficult for terror’s cross-border backers. So, old tactics needed a reboot.

Easy killings are a way to enthuse terror outfits that they are still in business. This is a low-investment and high-return terror strategy. Two-member terrorist groups, and no more than five or six such groups, can take a lot of innocent lives. And all they need are a few grenades and pistols.